Paris, May 20 (FN Agency) The two Roland-Garros champions Poland’s Iga Swiatek and Czech’s Barbora Krejcikova are have been placed as the top two seeds in the French open this year. The draws were revealed on Thursday for the second Grand Slam of the year which would be starting on Sunday in Paris. World No.1 Swiatek has been near unstoppable in recent months and returned to the site of her 2020 triumph riding high on a 28-match winning streak. After titles in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami, the 20-year-old went undefeated on clay in recent months, adding further silverware in Stuttgart and Rome.
Swiatek is at the top of the draw, and will open against a qualifier as she seeks to extend her 28-match winning streak. The winner of that match will take on either Alison Riske or Dayana Yastremska in the second round. If 2020 champion Swiatek can make the Roland Garros Round of 16 for the fourth straight time, she could face another former champion there. World No.19 Simona Halep, the 2018 champion, and No.13 Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 champion, are possible opponents for her in that round. No.3 Paula Badosa heads up the second quarter. The Spaniard, who reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros last year, opens against French wildcard Fiona Ferro, who reached the Round of 16 in 2020. Maria Sakkari, the 2021 semifinalist, will play Clara Burel in her opener.
She could have a tricky third-round match against the winner of the clash between Osaka and Anisimova. Both Osaka and Anisimova are rising back up the rankings after posting some strong results this season. Osaka, who fell out of the Top 80 after the Australian Open, made the Miami final and has climbed to No.38, just outside of the French Open seedings. Defending champion Krejcikova is at the bottom of the draw as the No.2 seed. She will play French teenager Diane Parry to begin her title defense. In the Round of 16, Krejcikova could face No.15 Victoria Azarenka, a former World No.1, or No.23 Jil Teichmann, who recently reached the Madrid semifinals and the Rome quarterfinals. Runner-up of 2018 French Open, Sloane Stephens is also in Krejcikova’s section of the draw.